Considerations about the concept of “terroir”: definition and research direction

By dissecting the root system architecture (RSA) into its underpinning components (e.g. root emission, axial growth, radial growth, branching, root direction or tropism) and identifying the relationships between them, functional-structural 3D root models are promising tools for analyzing the diversity and complexity of root system phenotypes with Genotype × Environment interactions. The model parameters are assumed to be synthetic traits, less influenced by the environment, and consequently with less polygenic architectures than the integrative RSA traits they drive. Root models can serve as a basis for in silico development of root system ideotypes by highlighting the developmental processes and parameters that most likely influence RSA fitness.

Wine varietal aroma is the result of a mixture of compounds formed or liberated from specific grape-aroma precursors. Their liberation/formation from their specific precursors can occur spontaneously by acid catalyzed rearrangements or hydrolysis or by the action of the yeast enzymatic activities. The influence of yeast during fermentation on the production of these volatile compounds has been widely studied however, the effect of this influence during aging is not fully understood. In order to evaluate these processes several indirect strategies have been used to study aroma precursors although they are not useful to understand the chemistry of the process.

Climate change poses a significant challenge for global viticulture, with growing evidence of its negative impact on thermal and hydric regimes, both of which are essential for the development of table grapes.

During wine production process high attention to the microbiological control from fermentation of the grape must to bottling is necessary. In fact, control of the indigenous microflora of the grape ensures correct fermentation activity of the inoculated starter, while control of the microorganisms in the finished wine is essential to prevent wine spoilage and to ensure the dominance of the desired bacteria when malolactic fermentation is required (Mas and Portillo, 2022).

In grape berry pedicel, xylem hydraulic conductance can be impaired by blockage deposition in the lumen of xylem elements. However, the varietal difference of the interruptions has not yet been characterized. In this preliminary work, we utilized synchrotron x-ray computed microtomography experiments performed at MOGNO beamline (LNLS – Brazil) to identify possible blockage sites in natural grape pedicel xylem. For this, we imaged dehydrated pedicel’s stem portion from the Niagara Rosada variety in three different phenological stages (Pre-veraison (PreV), veraison (V) and post-veraison (PostV). The reconstructed tridimensional images with a voxel size of 1.16 µm were segmented for the identification of xylem vessel lumens. After analysing one pedicel stem per stage, we identified 658 vessels without occlusion throughout his axial plane and 41 in which we could identify possible interruptions.